Alice and the Knave
by Smallsthehero
Summary: Thirteen years ago, little Alice Kingsley visited Wonderland for the first time and met all its inhabitants, good and bad. Before going to trial, she happens upon the Knave of Hearts himself and they bond.
1. Chapter 1: Picnic in the Garden

A/N: Wow, it's been absolutely forever since I wrote something on here! Well, this was just an idea that came to my head today and I thought 'What the heck? I'll do it.' I'm an enormous fan of Alice in Wonderland (the new movie and the original two stories) especially Stayne (love you, Crispin Glover!) I didn't like what happened to him at the end, it made me sad even though he did kinda deserve it =( Anyways, since Alice didn't get a flashback with Stayne in the movie, I'm making one for her. This story takes place during Alice's first visit 13 years ago. I dunno how old Stayne would be so don't ask, but it's before he turned evil. Hope you all enjoy it!

CHAPTER ONE: Picnic in the Garden

Alice was being pulled by the arm down the long red, white, and black hallway that was adorned with hearts. The card pulling her did not seem to care that she was just a small child and he kept his grip painfully tight on her. Alice struggled to fight back tears all the while forcing her short legs to keep up with the pace without tripping over the rug.

"Where are you taking me?" Alice ventured for what felt like the hundredth time in just a few minutes. This time, however, she received an answer.

"You've been summoned by her majesty, the Red Queen, to testify in court," grunted one of the cards who was holding a spear dangerously close to her head.

"Testify!" breathed Alice, almost tripping over her feet at this. "But what's happened?"

"The Knave of Hearts has been accused of stealing the Red Queen's tarts, that's what happened," said another card.

"And they're holding a trial over such a petty crime?" said Alice as they slowed to a stop outside a very tall door covered in giant hearts. The little girl took the opportunity to catch her breath.

"**A petty crime!" shouted the card that was holding her arm. "Dear girl, you have no idea how serious this is. They were the Queen's tarts. The **_**Red Queen's**_** tarts!" he hissed, his grip tightening even more on her.**

Alice felt more tears form in her eyes and she decided to plead with her captor. "You're hurting me, please let go!"

The card looked from the hand grasping her arm to the eyes that were starting to tear up before he slowly relinquished his grip on her. "Sorry," he said shortly "but be sure that you show some respect when you're before the Queen or it will be off with your head. Understand?"

The little girl took back her arm and began to massage it gently with the other hand. "Yes, I understand." Although in her mind she still thought this all to be utter nonsense.

"And you, quit slouching in the corner," he said to a gentleman that Alice had not spotted when they arrived at the door. "The Queen will think you disrespectful and immediately have you executed, whether you're innocent or not."

"So what?" the man answered. "She'll sentence me to death no matter the verdict. We both know that."

"Even so, quit slouching; it bothers me," said the card with a sniff of disgust. The man rolled his eyes and stood up straight as told. Nodding, the card opened the door and allowed his fellow cards to enter the throne room before him. He glanced back at Alice and the man. "You two, wait here while we go inside to wait for the order to fetch you."

"But-"Alice began, but the man next to her held a finger to his lips and she fell silent.

"Just wait here," the card repeated, and with that he entered the room, shutting the door tight behind him.

Alice was left standing dumbfounded in the hallway next to the man she had not yet been acquainted with. Since she had not had the chance yet to study the gentleman, she snuck a shy glance over at him, or should I say _up_ at him. He was at least seven feet tall with dark hair, dark eyes, handsome facial features, and very slender limbs. Alice had never seen anyone quite like him and he reminded her of a spider. When his eyes turned to look down at her, she quickly looked at her feet, a blush creeping to her cheeks.

"They're not very bright, cards," he said suddenly, causing Alice to forget her embarrassment and look back up at him. To her relief, he was smiling at her in what seemed to be a friendly enough way. Still, his height and dark appearance frightened her a bit. "Not their fault, I suppose," he continued, looking away from her and back at the closed door "they were never made to go to school like the rest of us." He cracked his neck and shifted his weight before once again looking down at Alice. "Well, can you speak or not, little mouse?"

Alice wanted to tell him off for such an impertinent remark, but with a man that size it would be like…well a mouse trying to tell off a cat. Instead, she swallowed hard and nodded.

"Well then, let's hear it. What's your name, to begin with?"

Making sure to wet her lips and steady her voice, she answered "Alice Kingsley, sir."

"Alice, hm? Well, it's a suitable enough name for such a small mouse like you."

"If you please, sir, I do not appreciate being called a mouse," she replied, looking up to give him a defiant glare.

"To me, you're small enough to be one," he chuckled.

Alice was silent for a moment before asking "What's your name then?"

"Ilosovic Stayne, the Knave of Hearts," he answered.

The little girl felt her jaw drop. "Then you-this is your-?"

"Yes, I am the one on trial," drawled Ilosovic Stayne, looking thoroughly bored with the idea. "As always, they've yet to even send for me to appear before the King and Queen."

"Are you innocent or guilty?" asked Alice, extremely interested in her new companion now that she knew who he was.

"Innocent as a dove," Stayne answered. "If you must know, the King is the one who did it, I saw him. However, he will never admit to it and always pins his crime on someone else, in this instance, me."

"How cruel!" the girl exclaimed indignantly.

Stayne just shrugged. "Just because he pinned it on me, doesn't mean I'll die for it. Sure, the Queen will sentence me to be executed, but the King has the power to cancel the execution and I'll be free as a bird. The best part is, the next day she won't even remember I was supposed to be beheaded."

Alice had already had one encounter with the Red Queen that day; she briefly recalled the King pardoning all those who had been sentenced to death and how he explained she would not remember ordering the deaths. "So what is the point of a trial then?"

He shrugged again. "Who knows? I think the King just does it to humor her. Anyway, we should probably leave now."

"Leave?" gasped Alice. "What about the trial?"

"What about it?"

"You'll be sentenced to death if you don't appear, as will I."

"No we won't. The King will make some excuse to stop her from noticing our absence. This isn't my first time on trial, you know."

She gaped at him. "What else has the King blamed you for?"

"Hm, let's see…her missing necklace, which he broke on accident and hid from her. Her shattered hand mirror; I got the blame for that one even though he stepped on it himself. When he tripped down the stairs…he said I pushed him, but he was just trying to avoid embarrassment. Oh, and there was also the time with the four and twenty blackbirds in the pie. I came really close with that one."

"He's such a coward for not taking the blame himself," Alice muttered, crossing her arms and glaring at the door as though it were the King.

"Well with a wife like her, I would be shifting the blame too." Stayne turned away from the doors and began to carefully look down both sides of the hallway. "Alright, it's all clear. Come with me, I'd like to show you something."

Alice hesitated. Her mother had always warned her about going places with strangers so she was a little wary. However, they were no longer strangers really, and she had been dragged around all day by strange people and creatures so maybe one more would not hurt. Anyway, Ilosovic Stayne _seemed _gentlemanly enough.

Stayne extended a gloved hand to her and after the slightest hesitation she placed her own much smaller hand into his. He led her down the hallway, the opposite way that she came, and through the doors at the end of it. They were now in what seemed to be an all-red marble hallway, which they made their way down to the tall doorway at the end. Alice was very much relieved that Stayne's grip on her hand was gentle, but she was having trouble keeping up with his long-legged stride.

He must have noticed her trouble because at the end of the hallway he stopped in front of the door to look down at her. "Forgive me, Miss Alice, but I often forget how much faster I can walk than other people."

Alice seized the opportunity to ask "Why are you so tall?"

Ilosovic Stayne shrugged again and pushed open the door. "I dunno, I was born this way. That would be like me asking why you have blonde hair."

"I don't know that either," Alice admitted, and she immediately dropped the subject for they had entered the outside and were now in a very beautiful garden. Already today had Alice been in this garden, attempting to play croquet with the Queen and the other subjects. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet smell of the flowers. They passed the white rose bushes that were half-painted red. Alice smiled at the silliness of it, but shuddered at the memory of what became of the painters. Would the King have them pardoned as well?

"Do you like white roses?" the Knave asked, seeing her gazing at the flowers.

"Very much so; it was a pity they had to paint so many of them red," she remarked.

"The rain may wash it out. They'll grow back white. White roses don't like to be painted, after all." He stopped and reached out to pluck an un-painted white rose which he handed to Alice. "Watch for thorns."

"Oh, thank you," she said, gingerly accepting the gift. "But…won't the Queen be angry?"

"Unless one of us tells her, she won't find out," he responded with a somewhat devious grin. "Come, we're almost there."

Alice allowed herself to be led further into the garden. She brought the white flower close to her nose and inhaled deeply. Any rose back home was scentless compared to the Wonderland ones. At last, the two skirted a particularly large hydrangea bush and came to a stop. Alice was surprised to see a large red and white checkered blanket spread out on the lawn and a neat wicker basket in the center.

"Someone left their picnic," she said, stating the obvious.

"Yes indeed. This is the Queen's picnic basket and blanket." He led her over to it and gestured for her to sit down on the blanket. Once she was settled, he seated himself opposite her and began to rifle through the contents of the basket.

"Oh, you can't do that!" Alice cried in distress. "The Queen will have our heads if she finds out we ate up her picnic food."

Stayne just grinned and started to set out plates, silverware, and cups. "Firstly, the Queen is inside at the trial and therefore will have no notion as to who did it. Secondly, this is her _lunch_ basket and since it is past lunchtime she will no longer have need of it, as she has already eaten inside. And thirdly, would you really want all this good food to go to waste?"

Alice felt her stomach growl. Apart from the tea she drank at the Mad Hatter's party, she had eaten nothing all day and was quite famished. "I suppose. Why is it out here anyway if the Queen did not eat it?"

"She has the servants prepare picnic baskets on nice days such as today and they are set at different places throughout the gardens so that if she takes a fancy to having a picnic it will be all ready for her and the King. Today, however, she must have forgotten or was just not hungry." Stayne had fished out some bread, fruits, cakes, and a large pitcher of some sort of liquid that even he was not sure of what it was. He set it all out before them so that they could take what they wanted and poured some of the liquid for each of them. Famished as she was, Alice waited until Stayne took the first bite of food and sip of drink before she tasted anything. She was, after all, wary of strangers. However, nothing happened to him so she began to eat and drink as well. The food was quite delicious despite having been left outside for who knew how long and the liquid turned out to be some sort of fruit drink that was heavenly even when it was warm.

"So where are you from, Miss Alice?" Ilosovic asked after they had eaten in silence for some time.

Alice made sure to swallow every bit of food in her mouth before answering. No need to forget her manners just because she wasn't at home. "I'm from London."

He frowned. "London? Where is that?"

The little girl was pleased to be able to once again show off her knowledge. "In England, which is in Europe."

"England? Europe? I've never heard of such places."

"Well…I do not believe that they are part of this world."

"So you are from another world entirely? How peculiar. No wonder you're so very small."

Alice decided to not take that as an insult. "How about you-Where are you from?"

"I was born in the hill village of Turnbaraound, which is in the province of Lucktanity Sardinia." He closed his eyes and took a sip of the fruit drink. When he was done, he sighed deeply. "Such beautiful lands they are, I was rather disappointed to leave them. I needed a job though."

"Do you have family? Brothers and sisters?" Alice asked only because she was still trying to pronounce the village and province names in her head.

"Yes, there was father, mother, four brothers, and six sisters. Where they are now, I haven't the slightest idea. What about your family? Surely they will be missing you while you are here."

"Oh. Well, there's father and mother and my older sister Margaret." Were they missing her? She had been gone such a long time. Poor Margaret must be worried sick. "I also have a cat named Dinah."

"You have an older sister?" Stayne asked, a sudden interest crossing his expression.

"Yes, but she's engaged," said Alice, catching the interest. "Or rather, she will soon be engaged. She's only thirteen, but mother and father have betrothed her to a young man already."

"Ah, I see," he responded, but he didn't look too disappointed. "Do your parents have anyone for you to marry yet?"

"Well, there is Hamish Ascot, but I don't think father wants me to marry him. He is the son of my father's business partner."

"Do you want to marry him?"

Alice crinkled her nose at the thought of the stuck up and droll young man. "Not in the least. He thinks too much of himself."

"Well, you're too young to be worrying about marriage anyway," Ilosovic said, giving her a small smile which she returned. He was happy to see her smile. She was, after all, the most attractive creature he had seen in a long while in spite of her young age. The ladies of the court and the Red Queen herself were all unsightly in his eyes, but this Alice girl was quite refreshing to look at. He was partial to blue eyes and blonde hair anyway. However, he had no intention of making any romantic gestures towards her; she was just a child for Heaven's sake! No, in this case it was just look, don't touch. "You will have no trouble finding yourself a handsome husband, Alice. You're very pretty."

Alice blushed. Hearing a compliment from such a tall and somewhat frightening man was enough to send the color rushing straight to her cheeks. "Thank you. And you're…well, I think you're a very handsome man."

This widened his smile. She was one of the only people to have ever looked past his ominous height and seen him for who he was. He was starting to like little Alice, he really was. "Are you finished with your meal?"

"Yes. Thank you very much for sharing with me, it was delicious."

They spent the next hour or so just talking about this and that. Alice relayed to him all the strange things that had happened to her that day, especially the shrinking and the growing. She also voiced her desire to go home and how much she missed her family and Dinah.

"Well you must be here for some purpose, otherwise that rabbit would not have appeared to you and you would not have felt inclined to follow it."

"I suppose. But Mr. Stayne, what happens if I am trapped here? I couldn't bear to be away from my family forever and ever." Tears were starting to well up in her eyes but she struggled to suppress them.

Stayne saw the tears and acted fast. "Well, if that ever happens you can look to me to protect you. I may be just a knave, but I like you and really want to help you out. I will do everything in my power to get you back, I promised." With that, he took her hand in his and kissed it gently.

Alice smiled wiped her tears away with her free hand. "Thank you, Mr. Stayne. I'm glad you're my friend."

A/N: Yes, I'm stopping it there. It's 2 in the morning and I'm sleepy, plus I couldn't really think of a better way to end it. There may be more chapters after this, detailing what happens when Alice comes back and Stayne is evil; it all depends on if I decide to not be lazy and just do it. Hope you all liked this, and please review so that I know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2: Miniature Guest

A/N: Since the reviews so far have asked for more chapters, I will happily oblige. I'm not quite sure how many I'll do before Alice is grown up yet…depends on how much inspiration I get. Thank you for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

CHAPTER 2: Miniature Guest

"Stayne? Stayne! Ilosovic Stayne, where are you?" a voice yelled through the garden. Alice and Stayne looked up from the hedgehog they had been playing with to try and locate the source of the voice.

"That would be the Red King," sighed Ilosovic, climbing grudgingly to his feet.

"Are we in trouble?" asked Alice in a small, troubled voice. She took had stood up and was now involved in brushing grass off herself and smoothing out her skirts to look proper for the King.

"No, he doesn't sound angry, but I do wonder what the devil he wants with me."

He didn't have to wait long to find out, for at that moment the Red King came bustling through the rose bushes. He was short compared to Stayne, but to Alice he was tall enough. He had on a red robe covered in little white hearts and his hair and beard were a light brown. On his head was a sparkling gold crown. The two watched as he put his hands on his knees and struggled to catch his breath. "Finally-I've found you," he panted. After composing himself he put on his best regal look and stood up straight to talk to them. His grey eyes landed on Alice and he frowned. "And who are you, young lady?"

"Alice Kingsley, your majesty," she answered with a curtsey. "We met earlier today in the gardens."

"Ah yes, young Alice, that's right." He sounded annoyed, but this was probably due to how flustered he was at having to be reminded of something. Regaining his composure, he turned back to Stayne. "The trial is over now, no thanks to you."

Stayne merely shrugged. "Nothing I could do; your cards left us unattended."

"Us? You mean Alice was arrested as well?" the King questioned.

"No, I was called upon to testify," said Alice.

"Oh, right, you were." The King took a deep breath to calm him from a second wave of annoyance. "Well, I managed to convince the Queen that a flock of birds flew in the window and ate up her tarts. She fell for it, naturally, but now has all the cards out hunting for those birds so that she can execute them." He sighed. "Poor things."

"Why can't you just take the blame for it yourself for once?" Alice spoke out before she could stop herself.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Knave slap his forehead with the palm of his hand. The King, however, just stared at Alice with interest. "Enlighten me, child, as to why you think I should do such a thing."

The girl, having realized what she said, looked sheepishly down at her feet as she spoke. "If you don't take responsibility for your own actions, you'll only end up hurting others. That is not how a king should act."

The King was silent as he processed her response. The Knave was prepared to grab Alice and run with her should any sort of order for her death come out of his mouth. However, the monarch merely chuckled and lifted Alice's chin up to look at him with his hand. "You are smart, little one. Had I a daughter, I would hope she could be at least half as clever as you. Very well, I will consider your advice and try to act upon it as much as possible in the future. Now, since we dragged you here against your will, please allow us to make up for it by allowing you to be a guest in the castle."

Alice just stared at him in disbelief. Was she hearing this right? "You would like to have me as a guest?"

The King continued to smile and nodded at her. "Why of course! The Queen was quite taken with you this morning, and from hearing such intelligent words I am rather taken with you myself. Come now, you will be most welcome in our home."

"I would love to, that is…" She trailed off and looked up at Stayne, who looked just as shocked as she felt. "Could I continue my companionship with Mr. Stayne? Please, your majesty, he's become a very dear friend to me."

"Certainly you may. In fact, Stayne why don't you show her around the castle? It will be no good if she gets lost and is late to dinner because of it. You know how the Queen is when anyone in the court is late for dinner."

"Yes, I do," the Knave answered with a knowing look. "Come along then, Alice, and I will show you around."

"Alright. Good bye then, your majesty. I hope I will see you again soon!"

"Good bye, little Alice," the King responded warmly, and with a small wave he departed back towards the castle leaving Alice and the Knave alone once more.

"You're a brave girl," Stayne remarked when the King was out of earshot. "Very few creatures have the nerve to speak out to the Red King like that."

"I didn't mean to say it, really," said Alice, folding her hands behind her back as they began to walk after the King. "Sometimes I just blurt things out before I can stop myself. It gets me into trouble quite a lot."

"Well, I personally believe everyone should be allowed to speak their minds. You just have to be careful who you're speaking your mind to here. But enough talk, let's start the tour." He once again took Alice by the hand and led her back towards the castle.

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry to cut this one short, but I wanted to post it so that you would have something to read while I break down my writer's block. Please be patient with me; I'm writing a novel right now and I'm also the world's biggest procrastinator, therefore the chapters will be very spaced in their postings. Hope you're all enjoying this story though!


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